Of Shadows and Souls
by Haunted Memoirs
Summary: They had met her once before, Kagome not really caring for the group as a whole. She was unusual, but bright. After that night, shamefully allowing them to fight for her honor, she left. They didn't need to be tied down to her, not when they had destined lives. Fate was cold, and she couldn't allow herself to intervene once again.
1. Chapter 1

H.M.: I've been away for a while. I apologize.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything presented in this.

Summary: They had met her once before, Kagome not really caring for the group as a whole. She was unusual, but bright. After that night, shamefully allowing them to fight for her honor, she left. They didn't need to be tied down to her, not when they had destined lives. Fate was cold, and she couldn't allow herself to intervene once again.

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

"I activate Monster Reborn and bring my Alexandrite Dragon back from the grave!" Kagome growled and took another card from her hand, "And I also activate Sparks to inflict 200 points of damage to your life points." She nibbled her lip in anger. She couldn't attack, not when she didn't have any idea what this man's monsters were. Blue eyes narrowed in distaste, glancing up at the foul man across her on the ring before closing them. "And I end my turn."

"Are you afraid of the dark?" A mocking voice reached her ears, and Kagome bit her tongue.

"I do not fear you or your shadows, Panik." Kagome couldn't help it- she smirked. "But, you are the one hiding from the light. Do you fear it, I find myself needing to ask."

"It matters not, little girl!" He shouted and slammed his fist down on a button to his side, causing a bright array of flames to erupt around her. He found immense joy in hearing her scream and curl away from them. "For this is the final turn! Even though your Alexandrite Dragon is too strong, your other two monsters are not!" The smirk was heard clearly in his voice, "I attack your Mystical Elf and your Extra Veiler, knocking your life points down to 0."

Kagome watched with an agape mouth while her monsters were destroyed, unable to stop the darkness's onslaught. She glanced down to her wagered star chips, wagered for a duel she didn't pick, with a morose smile. Looks like her time here was up.

She was unhooked from the mechanism at her ankles and hefted off of the platform with unnatural strength, an unplanned scream falling from her mouth. She was held upright by her wrist as the gold stars were plucked up by the man's other hand. Kagome continued to struggle when he hadn't put her down, kicking her legs back and forth in hopes of nailing him somewhere vital- the groin would even be perfect.

Unable to do so and unable to see in the thick black of the night, Kagome let herself become still as she dangled loosely from the mans hand. Even though she appeared calm, Kagome was boiling on the inside. She rose her other hand up and began top pry at the large one holding her.

"Let me go!" Kagome cried out in anger, "You won your little game, now release me!"

The rustling of leaves stole her attention before another voice intruded on the scene, this one male.

"Put her down, you creep! What kind of a guy picks on some chick in the middle of the night!?"

Kagome looked over her shoulder, expecting to see only one, but was shocked to a mild daze at seeing five people running towards them. She sneered and kept prying at Panik's hand. She could get herself out of this mess.

A deep chuckle made Kagome halt her actions, only having a second to collect her bearings before she was slung out of the way, her back colliding with the large dueling area behind the whole company. The collision left her with black spots behind her eyelids as she tired to get herself upright once more.

Before she could do anything, two different sets of hands were placed at her shoulders to aide in assisting her in sitting up.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked softly, notably female in pitch.

"You didn't break anything, did you?" Another pried gently, a strange accent flooding it heavily.

Kagome nodded, answering yes to both of their questions before opening her eyes and looking over the scene. Blue eyes widened in shock at the sight of the blond from before, more than ready to pummel Panik into the earth for his actions. Another, one with dark hair, was closely following suit.

"She lost fair and square," Panik laughed, "I guess she couldn't take the heat."

"Fair?" Kagome growled and stood up, with the help of the girl next to her. "That was anything but fair! You forced me into a duel I had no desire to handle and kidnapped me from my camp grounds. If it had been fair, you would have lost in a matter of minutes."

It was true. If he hadn't shocked her into the duel, hooking her up while unconscious to the deadly fire breathing mechanism, and hid behind his pathetic shadows the entire game, she would have been the victorious one.

"But I can't do anything about it now." Kagome glanced down at her feet, struggling to pull her aching limbs from the two beside her. "I lost and that's what happened. I'm out of here. Without any star chips to wage, I'll be off of this place my morning." She had to look at the bright side, as least she could get a hot shower again.

"You used a cheater method, and that makes the match no and void."

Kagome looked back up at the smallest person there, just a bit shorter than herself. She noticed how his fists were clenched tightly and Kagome leaned her weight on the white haired male next to her, her interest peaking when a dark energy began to consume him.

_'What the...'_

Her eyes widened at witnessing the sudden change of control in the boy's body. Not only was his aura different, but he was a bit taller, his clothes had darkened, and his features became more defined to a maturer face.

"You method is cowardly," He growled, shocking Kagome even more at the suddenly deeper voice that accompanied this new look. "I will duel you for her star chips. If I win, you must return them to her. If I lose, you get all of mine."

Panik chuckled. "I'll decline," He held up his arms, two arms showing of star chips, "As you can see, I already have plenty." His eyes flicked to the stadium behind him before looking at the girl he had just beaten. "Although, if you really want to help the little girl, I'll duel you."

"What is it you want in return if I lose?"

"Your life."

Kagome's eyes widened at that. "Don't! Its not important!"

He ignored her before nodding. "I accept your challenge. If I win, you return her star chips. If I lose, you get my life."

"Are you fucking crazy!?" Kagome shouted at the strange individual, currently aware she was screaming at the spirit that had assumed control of the boy. "I said it's not a big deal, so don't worry about it! You don't even know me so stop trying to avenge me!"

A hand patted her shoulder and Kagome looked towards a blue eyed girl.

"Don't worry," She smiled, "Yugi will win, no problem."

Kagome stood dumbfounded. Were they not able to see that their Yugi friend was possessed by some spirit ready to get himself killed, again?

"You say that now." Kagome snorted, folding her arms across her chest to stop her dull ache starting there. "I know what he has planned, and if my light monsters couldn't do anything, this Yugi kid is as good as gone fore."

"Huh?"

Kagome ignored them and watched the duel intently, biting her lip at every slip up that was made on Yugi's part. Still, doubting he would be victorious was shot down when he had defeated Panik's castle. Her mouth dropped open while his friends cheered. She down casted her gaze as he approached her, her five star chips held in his hand.

"Here." His voice drew her attention, and Kagome stared him down. "I believe these belong to you."

"Wrong." Kagome growled out. "You won, they belong to you."

"I made a deal before the match started, saying that if I won, these star chips would have to be returned to you. Take them."

The crowd around them watched the interaction sharply. Kagome still hadn't taken the star chips from Yugi's extended hand.

She refused to lower her pride, especially when it was the only thing she had anymore that actually mattered.

Still, he wouldn't back down either.

Blue eyes widened when a hand snatched her by the wrist, another swiping the star chips from Yugi's outstretched palm. The five little pieces were pressed into her gloved hand before her fingers were curled around them. Kagome looked up and towards the blond. He was looking down on her with a smirk.

"Take the damn chips," He laughed, "You wouldn't of lost them if it had been a fair duel, as you said."

Kagome's bangs fell to cover her eyes and she clenched her teeth tightly, fighting the urge to throw the little stars in his face. She finally relented and lowered her arm. When she looked back up, Kagome could see the smug look in the strange-haired boy's eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered quietly, turning on her heel to leave. "This is goodbye." She kept walking, ignoring them as they called out for her.

She kept the chips out of her glove as she walked. She came to a halt and looked down at them, and a snort fell from her lips.

She could always just toss them in the ocean.

* * *

H.M.: I hope you enjoyed and I hope I got all the errors out.

Please review, favorite, and follow. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

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She was about as lost as she ever had been, just wandering around aimlessly the island. Kagome looked down at her wrist, a seething glare tilting her lips slightly. Right now, she wanted nothing more than the opportunity to shove the gold chips down that groups's collective throat. Angry was a small two on a scale of ten as to how irritated she was. Sure, what he had done had been nice, but she hadn't needed nor wanted it. He could have just walked away and let it go, but no.

Her eyes remained glued to the bizarre glove as she continued to mull and mope about what had happened. She hated being in debt to a person, and she'd have to find a way to make it up to him. One good thing occurred from that instance, and that was Panik had released her once finding a new prey.

Why did she care so much about the simple gesture, anyway? It wasn't like she had wanted his help. She didn't owe it to him to make it up to the kid. Kagome furrowed her brows. She was calling him a kid, but they looked to be the same age as her. How... hypocritical.

Kagome sighed and dove her hand into the side card case she had strapped around her hip, pulling out a set of familiar cards She smiled lightly, running her fingers over the well kept edges and images sealed in the paper-like material.

Oh how she adored the cards, a simple set of five. She moved them in to a thin stack and began to flip through them, absently reading the description of each one. It wasn't needed, as she knew them all by heart by now, but it made her smile.

Sango the Demon Exterminator. Warrior monster. Wind Attribute. Attack 1800, Defense 2000, Six stars.

This small woman's looks are often deceived. Although beautiful, she is a fierce and courageous warrior who won't hesitate to stand up against an opponent ten times her size.

Shippo, Fox of Fires. Fire/Effect Monster. Fire Attribute. Attack 400, Defense 600, Two stars.

FLIP: When this card is flipped up due to effects of battle, the monster that attacked him becomes immobile for the next two turns due to the effect Fox Magic. This child might not be particularly strong but he is tactful. Devious and hyper, he often causes great mayhem for the opposing monsters by distracting them.

Wise Priest Miroku. Spellcaster monster. Dark Attribute. Attack 2000, Defense 1900, Six stars.

A bit of a lech by nature, this Priest is unorthodox. He is smart and powerful, however, which often leads to his actions to be overlooked by others in his community.

Faithful Companion Kilala. Fire/Effect Monster. Fire Attribute. Attack 1000, Defense 1500, Four Stars.

This little feline gains a 500 attack boost when Sango the Demon Exterminator is placed in Attack Mode. You may flip a coin at the start of your battle phase when summoned. If heads, Kilala transforms into her secondary form. If tails, you take 200 points of damage, and you may try against next turn.  
While in her secondary form, Kilala gains a 300 attack boost.  
You may not attack with on the turn secondary form is achieved.

Kagome was so in tune to looking over the cards and she actually stumbled over her own feet at seeing the last one. Tears blurred her vision at the silver haired appearance smiling arrogantly back at her.

Dog Warrior Inuyasha. Beast Monster. Wind Attribute. Attack 2500, Defense 1800, Seven stars.

A creature of half canine demon and half human decent, this brash and hard headed male won't hesitate to rush into any fight head first. He has an over powering need to protect those on his side of the battle field, and once he is activated, he is the only one that can be attacked.

Kagome ran her thumb gently over the small memorial of her friend, closing her eyes to keep her tears at bay.

She didn't even play these five cards, not wishing to see their doom once again. Instead, she just merely toted them around for good luck and remembrance. Not long back, after entering sketches into an art contest for a new set of cards and being chosen as the winner, she had been given the first printed copies. Only a dozen of these five cards had been created and shipped out.

Kagome sighed and thought over her reasons for not playing them before pouting to herself and scolding herself. The whole reason she had even entered the contest was to have an opportunity to have her friends memorialized forever for everyone to see without ever really catching on. It wasn't right for her to go on and continue to avoid playing them. She thought it over for a moment longer before slipping the five cards into her deck, shuffling the cards shortly after.

There, what's done is done. The chances her drawing them were less than 1 in 40, so it seemed to be pretty decent odds.

A loud voice interrupted her thinking and Kagome peeked through the trees, spotting the group from the previous night standing before Pegasus's castle. With them was a tall, blonde woman. Kagome snorted and took five star chips from her pocket as she approached them. She paid no mind to the shocked group around her and marched straight to Yugi, who sat defeated on the ground. It intrigued her slightly, but she ignored her curiosity as she came to a halt and held out her hand.

"Here."

Her tone was that of an order, and she narrowed her eyes when he didn't even appear to acknowledge her.

"Oi." She tried again, nudging him with the toe of her black boot, "You hear me? I said take the stupid star chips. I didn't want them last night, and I sure as hell don't want them now."

"She still hasn't let that go?"

Kagome stiffened up at hearing the dry remark.

"No, I haven't." She snapped at him, whirling around towards the dark haired male, "And unless you want me do something about that prying attitude, I suggest you shut up." Okay... maybe a lack of sleep was beginning to affect her, but who cares? Kagome tried twice more to get Yugi's attention before giving up and turning back to the group.

"What's up with him?" Kagome snorted, "You'd think his world ended."

After it had been explained to her, Kagome nodded and sighed.

Way to be a psycho ass Seto. Really.

Kagome turned towards Yugi and extended the five star chips one again. "Here," She encourage the silent male, "They are technically your's." She looked him over, gauging him for reactions, and her frown deepened with nothing happened. "If you won't take them from my hand, how about we have a duel, then? If you win, you get the five star chips you won for me previously."

Still no response, and Kagome was ready to throw them at him. She snorted and stood up. "Fine, I'll just toss them into the ocean like I originally planned."

"I'll duel you for them, then!"

Kagome turned to face the girl from last night, blue eyes blazing to life. Kagome gave a dry laugh at her bold declaration.

She thought it over before nodding.

"Alright then, but I'm not holding back." Kagome advised, "I hope you understand what you're getting into."

* * *

H.M.: I hope you enjoyed!

Please review, favorite, and follow! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

* * *

Kagome stared the girl across from where down with a pointed glare, it being matched by a more meek looking one from the girl. She could hear briefly the cheers of encouragement she was receiving from her friends.

"What is your name?" Kagome called out across the dueling area as she waited for her to draw her starting hand. "My name is Kagome."

"I'm Anzu!" She answered after finally completing her hand, "I'll go first!"

Kagome nodded at this and waited for her to make her move.

Anzu glanced through her cards nervously before finally picking one and sliding it onto the mat.

"I place Petite Angel in attack mode!"

Kagome drew a new card and smirked at Anzu's move. "How cute." She took a quick look at her hand. Mystical Elf, Trap Hole, Black Pendent, Mirror Force, De-Spell, and Sango the Demon Exterminator. She let her eyes linger on the Slayer's card for a second later before sliding another from her hand and setting it to the field.

"I place Mystical Elf in attack position." She then took two more cards from her hand, "And I place two face down. Now, Mystical Elf, attack her Petite Angel!"

There were cries of protest as the round ball was destroyed in battle. Anzu's life points were decreased by 200, leaving them at 1800.

Kagome looked up and sighed at the other girl's expression. "If you're so serious about beating me, why don't you actually provide me a challenge? Otherwise, beating you wouldn't be any fun! My Mystical Elf is one of the weakest monsters in my deck, so in order to beat me you're gonna have to up your attack force majorly!"

"If I have my friends here to support me, anything is possible!" Anzu narrowed her eyes at Kagome's words. "It's my turn! I place Faerie's Gift in attack mode! I set one more card and attack your Mystical Elf!"

Kagome smiled and applauded the girl. "That's more like it, Anzu." She looked down at her face down Trap Hole, debating whether or not to flip it. She decided against it and watched as the Mystical Elf was destroyed. Her life points went down to 1200.

"Way to go Anzu!" Kagome heard the girl's friends shout, "Now you're winning! Try to keep that lead!"

"She best have a good idea in order to do that," Kagome snorted and drew a new card. "For my turn I'll place another face down and I'll summon Sango the Demon Exterminator to the field!" She heard the confused comments from the audience. It didn't surprise her. The card she had just played was a rarity, so none of them might not of ever seen it, let alone heard of it. "Now, Sango, attack Faerie's Gift and show them your talents as a fighter!"

"Hmph. She could have this duel won in three turns if she had placed that card in the first place." Mai commented from where she stood a few feet away from the group. "With it's attack power, there's no way Anzu has a card to defeat it."

"What do you mean by that?" Jounouchi asked.

"Safely assuming she had it in her first draw, she could have taken out Petite Angel and knocked 1200 of Anzu's life points like that. Add another 400 for this attack, it would be 1600. Let's assume she had a power-up card in her hand or on the field, your little friend would be knocked out faster than she could say the word "friendship."

Kagome met Anzu's shocked expression with narrowed eyes. "I thought I told you to up your attack power, or do you not have anything to?! This is why I despise dueling complete newbies! Aren't you dueling me to get the star chips for Yugi?" When Anzu nodded, Kagome growled, "I don't like you, then! Someone who feels the need to protect everyone else, someone so naive to think it actually matters... Ha! Don't make me laugh at something so idiotic!"

"It does matter!" Anzu shouted back.

"Don't be so blind, you foolish girl, and get a hold of yourself!"

"I'm not blind!" Anzu clenched her fists.

"Everyone in this world is alone." Kagome folded her arms, "If you think your friends down there matter to this duel, they don't. You're the one dueling, alone. Let me tell you a little secret, that's why Yugi lost to Kaiba! He allowed himself to be dependent on other's words and forgot how to help himself!"

"That's not true!"

"Friends on a battle field are nothing but trouble!" Kagome snapped and planted herself more firmly on the pedestal. She glanced down at the hologram of Sango before looking towards where Yugi stood. "Yugi failed to realize that. If you truly think Yugi can win because he has friends cheering him on, then why didn't he? Instead he lost because you all got in his way. If you believe that he can do so like that, then you are a fool blind to the truth!"

Anzu's life points were now down to 1400. She drew one card and summoned Shining Friendship.

Kagome growled at seeing the cute monster. "What the fuck is that supposed to do!? Sango, get rid of it!"

"I activate my trap card, Waboku."

The attack was negated and Anzu took no damage that turn.

"Kagome-san," Anzu called out, "Now I want you to understand something. I will protect Shining Friendship until the end. It represents the bond I have with all of my friends. I don't care what you have to say about it all, but I have faith in them, and in Yugi!"

Kagome looked Anzu in the eyes for a second before glancing back down at her hand.

"We've always been together, long since coming to this island. We've come so far, so we can't just let him go alone!"

She heard the group at the foot of the area start to talk again, and she sighed. "Do you really think that words that meaningful matter on whether or not you win this duel?"

"I won't lose!" Anzu cried out, "I set one card in defense mode and equip Shining Friendship with Silver Bow and Arrow."

Kagome snorted, "You're still not strong enough to take down Sango, but I'm curious about your face-down. So, Sango target her face down!" The face down card was taken down without an issue. "Magician of Faith is gone." Kagome growled under her breath. "You're way too new to beat me, and I'm not even trying." She looked back up at the girl. "You can't just always assume your friends will always be there, so going forth in this world clinging to it is worthless. Such pathetic methods need to be left alone."

"That's not true!"

"Winning and losing," Kagome held up both her hands, "Those are the only things that will ever matter when battling." Kagome bit her lip before continuing, remembering the way Sesshoumaru would scold her when she began to miss her deceased friends. "If you want to go on a successful path in this forsaken and despicable world, and you plan to keep something as pointless as friendship locked on your lips, then just maybe you don't belong here. You need to realize, Anzu, that the only thing, the only person, you can trust at the end of the day... That person is yourself!"

"In a duel, no matter where, you should be the person giving yourself strength to go on, not allies that might not be there when you turn around next!" Kagome bit out at her through tightly clenched teeth, "Because face it, people are always going to be leaving! If you can depend on yourself, that proves you have the strength and ability to make it to the next day in this world! A person without any form of courage or strength will only ever be defeated, by their self and those around them, and betray any and all trust they have of their friends!"

"I want to protect my friends, and Yugi!" Anzu shouted back at her, "Even if he can't rely on his own self-confidence in the end, I will keep on supporting him with all the strength I have!" She doubled her body over just as her tears began to fall, "I'll do whatever it takes to get Yugi into Pegasus's castle!"

Kagome looked the girl over before looking away. Anzu reminded her of herself when first starting her feudal adventure.

"Even if nothing comes of it, I'll protect Yugi until the end! That's what friend are, what they do! I won't lose, and I will protect my friendship." Anzu wiped her eyes dry and drew her next card. "I equip Shining Friendship with Elf's Light, making it's attack 2000 and strong enough to knock your monster down!"

Kagome watched with wide eyes as Sango's hologram was destroyed by battle. She lowered her head at the cry it gave. She took 200 more points of damage. Her eyes strayed to her cards, looking with unshed and hidden tears at the one card strong enough to defeat Anzu's powered up monster.

Inuyasha's card.

She bit her lip, finding herself unwilling to go on now that Sango was in the graveyard. She removed her flipped cards from play and sighed. "I lose, and you win."

"Huh?" Anzu looked confused, "But the duel is still going on."

"She was a very important card to me," Kagome set her cards in her deck, "Without her I refuse to go on. The duel is over. When losing a card that matters so much to me, my pride will not allow me to go on."

Once they had all met up on the ground, Kagome handed Anzu the five wagered star chips. Anzu took them and Kagome turned to leave. She came to a halt when Yugi called out to her.

"Kagome-san, why didn't you activate one of your set trap cards?"

"..." Kagome looked down at her feet before shrugging his question off. "I don't know what you're talking about. Good luck in the castle."

"You're not going?"

Kagome shook her head, "No, after you beat Panik for me, I lost all my desire to duel here." She turned around and looked at Yugi, "But understand me Yugi, one day you and I will duel so I can regain my honor that I lost when you defended me." She clenched her fists together and looked away from him, "And I know this isn't much, but I hope you beat Pegasus and get your grandfather's soul back." Before leaving, Kagome did something that shocked even herself. She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to Yugi's cheek.

The contact was less than a second but caused an uproar.

Kagome smirked at the sounds booming to life around them, ranging from teasing remarks and jealous calls. She took one last look at Yugi, his cheeks bright red from her action and the remarks of his companions, before heading off on her own once again.

* * *

H.M.: Hope you liked! If I missed any errors, I apologize!

Please review, favorite, and follow! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

* * *

It was three weeks later that Kagome found herself wandering the streets of Domino without much purpose. It was better than just sitting around with nothing to do at the manor. It got pretty lonely there, even with the company of Sesshoumaru, who had taken up the masquerade of her elder brother.

Well…

If one could even call that company.

To her it didn't qualify. Compared to the previous company she had held, the life she lived with Sesshoumaru was pretty lonely. She didn't hate it, no, quite the contrary actually. He left her be when she wished, and spoke with her when he could tell she was craving someone to be around her.

She groaned when she made it to her destination, the park, and stretched high into the air, sinking down on a bench behind her. She had heard more than enough about the tournament Kaiba would be hosting.

She also knew he wanted her to join, and he had even gone as far as to invite her personally over a phone call three days ago. To her, it was more than obvious that he craved her participation in it. Particularly because he had already registered her without her final say.

Whether or not she agreed hadn't been decided yet. It was extremely likely that she would, if only for something to occupy her time. Even if she didn't want to, it would give her something to do, at the very least.

Whatever prize that was offered didn't matter to her.

Kagome sighed and stood up.

Perhaps she would go pick up the needed things. It couldn't be more boring than having nothing to do. At the very least it was something to occupy her time.

* * *

When she had arrived at the shop where she could obtain the required equipment for the tournament, as well as confirm her registration, she was greeted with a set of familiar individuals. Her left eye twitched at the sight.

Kagome ignored them and approached the desk, paying them no attention as they began to speak about recognizing her.

"Kagome Taisho." Kagome looked at the man behind the counter, "I'm here to pick up my duel disk. If I'm correct, I should be good to go. Seto mentioned to me that he had already entered me into the tournament database."

He entered her name into the computer and smiled broadly at her when her words proved to be accurate. Next he handed her the boxed package. She nodded her farewell and turned, preparing to leave, but halted when she found herself blocked by the group she had planned on ignoring.

"You're participating in this, too, Kagome-san?"

Kagome glared at Yugi. "Knock it off with that "san" stuff," She snapped, "And yeah, what does it matter?"

He didn't seem fazed by her cold tone, and he merely smiled back at her. "That's great. Perhaps we'll be able to duel each other at some point."

Kagome thought it over before nodding slightly, "It's possible, but don't be too sure." She adjusted the package she held in her arms, setting her weight on her right foot, tapping her left one a bit impatiently.

"So how have you been?" The girl in the group asked. Anzu was her name, if Kagome remembered accurately. "Have you been in town since you got back, or were you somewhere else?"

"I've been in Domino." Kagome replied, "Mainly since I got back I've been handling some business for my brother. He runs Taisho Corporation. A few days ago I received a phone call from Seto asking me to participate, so I decided to go along with it. Considering our history together, I doubt he'd expect anything less from me."

"You and Kaiba are friends?"

Kagome looked towards the male in the back that had spoken, his shocked tone radiating his unspoken confusion. "I wouldn't call us friends, just acquaintances." She brushed a few strands of her hair out of her face. "I met him at a business party I attended in replacement of my brother so he could continue his work uninterrupted. The two of us conversed for most of the night. The next month Kaiba Corp and Taisho Corp formed a wise partnership. Since I handle quite a bit for my brother, Seto and myself have had the privilege to remain in contact with one another."

She watched as her words sunk into their heads.

"Now," Kagome waltzed past them and towards the door, "If you don't mind, I have to get back to Corporation before I am called. I have plans that I need to handle if I am participating in Seto's tournament.

Once she had finally left the shop, ignoring the yells of the group's goodbye, Kagome set on her way to her destination. When she had finally made it, she wasted no time in heading towards the closest elevator and boarding it. She pressed the top button, the one that lead to the floor of Sesshoumaru's office. It didn't take long to get to the top floor, even though there were more than forty floors in the building, not including the underground layers that served as a private testing facility. Majority of the workers there had no clue of the underground levels. Currently there was only one method of going down there, and that was to use the hidden staircase inside of Sesshoumaru's private work study. No one ever got in there without his knowing.

To modern Japan, Taisho Corporation was a giant, and still growing, industry in itself. It had many branches all over the world; Europe, North and South America, Australia, and Japan. Those were just the biggest ones. When it was said all over the world, it was meant all over the world.

The entire purpose of the private testing facility was the nonhuman creations being made, such as tactical trackers for demon hunters to use. The tracker is something created by Sesshoumaru, with the aide of Kagome. It did what it was meant to, and that was locate demons that meant harm based on the aura that was leaked by them.

Another item manufactured in the underground layers were ancient weapons- such as the Hiraikotsu, previously used by Sango and other demon exterminators.

And then there were the bizarre creations being crafted. Hybrid creatures brought to modern ages due to ancient traces of DNA discovered by Sesshoumaru's private team of workers. The ones hired to work in the underground facility. They were primarily demons, but a few were humans.

And she was one of those humans.

She made it to the destined floor, and headed silently into Sesshoumaru's office. The door opened as she approached and she was greeted with the sight of the silver haired man. He stepped from her path and shut and locked the door when Kagome had entered.

"You needed something?"

Kagome walked towards his desk and hopped up on top of it. Sesshoumaru followed after her and sat in his chair.

"I need the experimentations to be put on hold for a few weeks once again."

"Halt them?" He glanced up from his work to give her a doubtful stare. "You've just resumed them two weeks ago."

"I understand this, but I have other arrangements I must deal with, and I do not trust the other workers to handle this project without my company and instruction. Surely you know how dangerous this is. If the glass were to break, all our hard work would be gone and the creatures would be rampant on the streets. That isn't needed, not now."

"But these things grow faster than anticipated when the experiments are not being conducted. Just while you were away at that island, and the excess time you put it on hold, they practically doubled in size."

"They slow their growth in the cold by more than a fourth of a fraction, correct?" Kagome asked, watching as Sesshoumaru pulled out the documents of their studies.

"About that, maybe a little less."

"So we will keep the facility they are held in below freezing, like we do when it is summer. That should delay their growth enough until I can resume my studies one hundred percent without distractions."

Sesshoumaru nodded, giving into her ideas for the time being. "Remember though, they will eventually become too big for their containers to hold them. You will either be forced to put them down or find a safe holding space."

Kagome glanced down at her papers and her shoulders grew heavy. She knew she wasn't meant to get attached to these creations, as they would eventually have to be killed so they wouldn't be able to get out in the public, but she couldn't help it. She had watched some of these things grow from a single cell of DNA- literally. She had transferred them to their tubes when they had gotten too big for their previous ones, and then placed them in their current ones when they were able to grow on their own.

"I know." Kagome finally whispered, hopping down from the desk and heading towards the study connected to his office. "I'm going to go check on them. I'll be back up in a few hours or so."

Sesshoumaru nodded and went back to his work as Kagome shut the door to his study. He glanced up at the closed door shortly after and shook his head.

* * *

H.M.: The pairing, I don't know if I've already mentioned this, but it is already decided. I won't share what it is, yet, though because of it will develop later. On another note, I hope you all enjoyed!

Please review, favorite, and follow. Thanks!


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